


a strange you | a strange us

by fir8008



Category: Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Confessions, Fluff, Language Barrier, M/M, Mentioned Others - Freeform, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, based on author's experiences, but people still communicate better than they normally could with a language barrier, ft trainees who have english names, the fic where justin is an abc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-09 12:47:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12888195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fir8008/pseuds/fir8008
Summary: 246: Choi Seunghyuk came to the US to study without knowing any useful English and desperately tries to look for a classroom. He sees someone who could be Chinese, and runs to him and asks him in Chinese for directions, but the dude just waves him off and says he is Korean but thank god Seunghyuk is actually a Korean and he switches languages. But then the guy says he doesn’t know Korean either and runs away. Minutes later, Seunghyuk finally arrives at his classroom but only one seat is available - right next to that Korean non-Korean speaking dude who weirdly has a very Chinese sounding name.





	a strange you | a strange us

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I've tried to write straight fluff without overcomplicated plot, so I hope it doesn't feel too empty and I hope you enjoy!! 
> 
> The title comes from "Beautiful Stranger" by f(x)

It takes Seunghyuk up until the first day of his semester abroad to realize that maybe going to the United States with his level of English comprehension was perhaps not the smartest thing he had ever done. 

His host family was Korean-American so he mainly spoke to them in Korean, and he never had prolonged conversations with anyone outside when he went exploring by himself and the brief chats he had been able to carry only because he knew how to exchange pleasantries. He knew he hadn’t really been able to follow along with any of the TV programming, and newspapers were a bit hard to read, but he had thought he was proficient enough to get along well enough to survive a semester. 

His first day on his host university’s campus was proving that thought to be wildly idealistic and very, very false. 

The first problem was the campus was bigger than Seunghyuk thought it would be, and every building looked the same. Signs were few and far between and Seunghyuk was acutely aware of the ticking of the clock because honestly the last thing he needed was to be late on the first day of classes. 

Seunghyuk is already panicked, but he begins to panic more as he realizes all of the important directions-related words are running out of his ears and he soon won’t even have the vocabulary to ask someone for directions. Worse still, how does he expect to understand the answer given someone manages to understand his question? As he looks around, hopefully looking pathetic and lost so someone can take pity on him, he sees no one he deems safe to ask. 

But then Seunghyuk catches sight of a pair of shoes and the gates to heaven open and all the angels and saints sing hallelujah. MCM brand sneakers. That guy’s got to be Asian. 

Seunghyuk approaches slowly, trying to organize his thoughts. The guy is blonde, but he’s definitely Asian. Seunghyuk has been approached by many Chinese people who have asked him for directions and luckily Seunghyuk studied Chinese too - Seunghyuk also thinks he perhaps should have done a term abroad in China but it was too late for that now - so he had been able to answer. 

Seunghyuk clears his throat and the guy looks at him with quizzical eyes. Seunghyuk says, in Chinese and as calmly as he can, “Excuse me, do you know…” 

The guy waves him away immediately. “Korean, Korean,” he says in Chinese. 

Seunghyuk’s heart could sing as he switches back to his native tongue. “Oh, Korean? I’m Korean too! Ah, what a relief!” 

The guy looks rather alarmed for someone who just found another Korean. He shakes his head and waves his hands in front of his face. “No,” he says in English, “No Korean, don’t speak Korean, American, American,” and then the guy freaking bolts. 

What the hell. 

 

Seunghyuk is in enough distress that someone finally takes pity on him and even though his English is one gigantic garbled mess, the kind soul reads his paper schedule and walks him to his building. Seunghyuk thanks him profusely, bowing too, before running up the stairs to find his classroom. 

He manages to find it without a problem and walks in only five minutes late. The professor waves him in as Seunghyuk tries to babble apologies before wildly looking around for an empty seat. There’s only one, near the back, next to a kid with a bizarrely familiar head of blonde hair. 

Seunghyuk is in disbelief as he slides into the chair because, sure enough, it’s the not-Chinese-not-Korean-doesn’t-speak-either-language Asian guy from a few minutes ago. 

Jackass. 

Seunghyuk stares at the side of his face while the guy pointedly stares forward, sitting rigidly. Seunghyuk doesn’t even stop staring at the kid when the professor calls his name for attendance. He’s waiting for the kid’s name to get called. 

“Minghao Huang?” 

The kid raises his hand. “I prefer Justin,” he says. 

“Justin? Okay.” The professor continues with roll call. 

Huang Minghao? Sounds Chinese to Seunghyuk. 

Seunghyuk doesn’t get a chance to ask the kid what the hell his problem is because when the class is over, the kid - Justin - bolts again. Seunghyuk can’t even chase him because he has to meet with the study abroad coordinator, who had been intoning something about introducing Seunghyuk to people. 

Sure enough when he walks into Seokhoon’s office, Seunghyuk is practically jumped on by an energetic boy with a big smile. “Hi! Hi! I’m David Lee, it’s so nice to meet you!” 

“Hi? I’m Seunghyuk?” Seunghyuk’s a little dazed. 

The boy switches to Korean. “My Korean name is Daehwi, you can call me by either one, I don’t mind at all! It’s so nice to meet you! I’m the treasurer of the Korean Students Association here. Oh, oh, this is Daniel! He’s the president.” 

“My Korean name is Euigeon, but I don’t think you want to call me by that,” Daniel says with a laugh. “Even my parents have trouble saying that, so Daniel would be good. It’s nice to meet you, Seunghyuk.” 

Seokhoon smiles at them all warmly, “I’ll leave you kids to it,” as Daehwi grabs one of Seunghyuk’s arms and Daniel grabs the other and they (mostly Daniel) heave Seunghyuk out of the study abroad office and begin dragging him somewhere. Seunghyuk can’t really protest because he’s not going to turn down the offer of friends, especially Korean friends, so he lets Daehwi talk his ear off about the other members in the KSA and club activities and everything they’re about to throw Seunghyuk into head first . 

The KSA club room is in the basement of one of the science buildings, it’s a little scary going down the stairs and there’s barely any cell service, but the room itself is small and cozy with couches and a big round table in the middle. There are only two people in the room, one of them splayed out on the couch and the other sitting at the table with a laptop. The person at the table looks up at their entrance. “Hey, is that the new guy?” 

“Yup!” Daehwi chirps. “This is Seunghyuk. Seunghyuk, that’s Eric, and on the couch is Longguo.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Eric says with a smile. “You actually came when it’s not busy. The girls are all out and the other guys are in class still. This little room can get pretty packed.” 

The boy on the couch still hasn’t moved so Eric gestures to him. “That’s Longguo. He keeps pretending he doesn’t really like us.” 

“I don’t,” Longguo finally drawls. 

“You told us last semester you only hung out here because our wifi is so great,” Daniel laughs. “It’s terrible down here.” 

Longguo just shrugs. “It’s quieter here than in the Chinese Students Association. Even when it’s the most crowded, it’s still a lot quieter.” 

Seunghyuk’s still a little mystified by everyone, even more so when Longguo talks to him in Korean before explaining that he’s mixed and then returning to his phone. Daniel leans over the couch and even more perplexingly they start chatting amiably about cats. Daehwi eventually leaves, promising to bring other club members around if he sees them and Seunghyuk ends up chatting with Eric. 

“You can call me Euiwoong if it’s more comfortable,” Eric says. “Even if it’s not the easiest to say.” 

“It’s not as bad as Euigeon,” Daniel chuckles. 

Longguo just shrugs again as he pauses the cat video he’s watching. “Does it matter if they can’t say your name?” 

Euiwoong just shrugs and turns back to Seunghyuk. “So how are you settling?” 

 

Seunghyuk ends up spending the most time with Euiwoong because Euiwoong is the most mellow of the rotating cast of KSA members Daehwi introduces him to, including Samuel and his dance department senior Chungha, and his childhood best friend Somi, and Somi and Chungha’s friend, the Chinese Student Association secretary, Jieqiong’s Korean friends Kyla and Shannon, and Patrick, but Hyunbin is okay, who is Longguo’s friend and part time model part time student, Daehwi’s Taiwanese friend Guanlin, and Seunghyuk didn’t think he would ever be meeting too many people here, but he supposes it isn’t too bad. Euiwoong is mellow and studious and even though he’s just as excitable, he provides some calm in between excited bouts with the rest of KSA. Seunghyuk actually grows quite fond of them quickly. He’s equally comfortable with the KSA members as he is with their CSA friends. Classes are still difficult, but Seunghyuk manages to keep pace. The only thing that really bothers him is the kid in his class. 

Justin. 

Seunghyuk drops his name around Longguo and Guanlin hoping it rings a bell. It does. Longguo’s head pops up. 

“Oh, I know him. He’s an ABC. I said hi in Mandarin and he panicked.” 

“I did the same,” Seunghyuk admits, “But he told me he was Korean so I got excited, but then he got even more panicked and ran away.”

Longguo shrugs like that makes sense and Guanlin does the same. It still doesn’t make any sense to Seunghyuk, honestly. 

Seunghyuk decides that, since he and Justin still sit next to each in other class, that he might as well try to make conversation. So he says hello and Justin regards him warily before returning the greeting. Seunghyuk just asks something mundane about the previous class’s lecture and Justin shrugs a little and gives him an equally mundane answer.

After a few awkward greetings like that, it eventually becomes a part of Seunghyuk’s routine, falling naturally between other classes and meetings with the KSA. There’s Justin. He doesn’t really know if Justin would consider them any more than acquaintances, but Seunghyuk does know that they end up exchanging more than pleasantries and end up having regular chats as the semester goes on. They exchange numbers and social media usernames and even start doing homework together some time around midterms and Seunghyuk does start thinking of Justin as a friend. Part of Seunghyuk wants to tell Justin how much his feelings changed from their first meeting when Seunghyuk thought Justin was one confusing jackass but he figures everything is fine as it is now.

Seunghyuk doesn’t notice the way his feelings have changed until Longguo mentions offhandedly that he has a date and Daehwi all but jumps on him and squeals asking who it is and Seunghyuk has never seen Longguo so ruffled by anything, hotly insisting it’s not really Daehwi’s business but Daehwi pouts and prods until Longguo says the guy’s name is Edward and he’s Korean and maybe if Daehwi doesn’t nag him or instagram stalk the guy, Longguo will bring him around if the date goes well. Daehwi promises to not nag, and yet Seunghyuk can’t help but snicker when Daehwi borrows Samuel’s phone to try to look the guy up on instagram anyway.

Seunghyuk wonders what it might be like to bring someone around the KSA clubroom and for some reason, it’s Justin’s face that pops up in his head. Seunghyuk thinks it can easily explained by Justin being the one person Seunghyuk talks to outside of the KSA. He doesn’t really think it’s anything more until he goes to class and really takes a close look at Justin and finally notices the shape of his eyes and the slope of his mouth and the line of his jaw and Seunghyuk realizes that he’s been developing some kind of crush without even perceiving it. 

Seunghyuk tries to not let it get in the way of their chatting, and he thinks he carries it off pretty well. He tries to not project the idea that Justin’s smile gets warmer each time they see each other. Seunghyuk thinks he’s doing well disguising his own crush. It isn’t up until Daniel tells him they’re going to have a party to celebrate the end of finals at his place and Seunghyuk can invite friends if he wants that Seunghyuk manages to muck up all the English he’s spent the past few months learning.

“There’s… a party… go with me?” Seunghyuk eventually squeaks out. 

“Sure,” Justin surprisingly agrees immediately and it feels like a huge weight off of Seunghyuk’s shoulders. It only gets replaced by another one when Seunghyuk realizes he should care about what he wears to the party so Seunghyuk consults a bemused Euiwoong who agrees to help him pick out his an outfit for a party that’s still a week away.

 

There’s a cold snap finals week and it’s miserable because Seunghyuk doesn’t have a coat with him that’s warm enough and he doesn’t want to buy one so he just tries to wear as many layers as possible. Justin lends him a scarf on a particularly cold day and Seunghyuk starts to wonder if he should tell Justin how his feelings have developed. He wonders if it’s worth it, to say anything now, because he’s still waffling about another semester abroad and telling Justin how he feels could influence whether or not he wants to stay longer. Seunghyuk decides to roll back that thought because he can’t make educational decisions based on his crush. 

Seunghyuk adds Justin’s scarf to his party outfit and points it out to Justin as they walk to Daniel’s place together. Seunghyuk doesn’t really know what to expect, other than Daehwi said they’ll have games and pizza and maybe Longguo’s boyfriend is coming but Samuel thinks that Daehwi’s eagerness has Longguo too spooked to bring the guy around. And even if Longguo were to come, with or without a guest, Euiwoong pointed out, he would probably hide away to hang out with Daniel’s cats anyway like he did last semester.

Daniel greets them with a big smile and hugs Justin when Seunghyuk introduces him. Longguo is actually there with his boyfriend and they’re both much more interested in each other and the cats, but Longguo’s eyes flicker with recognition when he sees Justin and he waves. Seunghyuk makes the rounds with Justin, introducing him to his friends and getting introduced to even more people in return.

Daehwi and Daniel get everyone together so they can start playing games. Seunghyuk has never felt more at ease because they start playing Korean drinking games and Seunghyuk has to explain how to play to Justin. Seunghyuk ends up losing a round and needs to take a shot. Everyone chants “one shot!” as Seunghyuk tips the contents of his red solo cup down his throat, thinking it must be like cojinganmaek, but he only tastes the sweetness of the cola and Seunghyuk doesn’t feel the burn of soju. He just took a shot of cola. Seunghyuk stifles a burp. He’s friends with such good kids. 

They spend several hours playing games and eating pizza and the nights with someone bringing out a karaoke machine and everyone ends up singing noisily and dancing and Seunghyuk is elated and exhausted when everyone decides to call it a night. 

“That was fun,” Justin says as he stretches and yawns. Seunghyuk nods enthusiastically. 

He walks back with Justin and Seunghyuk is in such a good mood, riding on such a wave, he turns and says, “when we met first, I was confused by you.” 

Justin raises his eyebrows.

“Because I thought you were Chinese, but you said Korean, but you weren’t,” Seunghyuk doesn’t think his sentences will really connect but he decides to take the plunge, “and now I like you a lot.”

“Huh?” 

Seunghyuk stops. “I like you,” he repeats. “I like you, Justin.” 

Justin throws his arms around Seunghyuk’s shoulders in a hug Seunghyuk doesn’t honestly expect but he manages to get his arms around Justin’s waist before Justin starts talking really fast and Seunghyuk has to ask him to slow down. 

“I like you too,” still comes out of Justin’s mouth all fast and flustered, his face red from more than the cold air of the night. “And when we met I was intimidated because you were talking to me in Chinese and I don’t know enough and usually telling people I’m Korean works but you’re Korean and you’re too tall and good looking I didn’t know what to do even when you started to say hi I didn’t know how to act…”

Seunghyuk decides to cut off Justin’s chattering, half of which Seunghyuk can’t quite follow, by pecking him quickly on the lips. Justin squeaks a little but returns it shyly. 

“I like you,” Seunghyuk repeats, a little giddy. “I’m glad you like me too.” 

Justin smiles up at Seunghyuk sheepishly and they lace their fingers together and continue walking home.


End file.
